Behind the Mask
by walkingproof
Summary: It's time for the press tour for Clarke and Bellamy's new movie and Octavia is doing everything she can to keep them from fighting, but it's all they've ever done. When they fight in front of a reporter Octavia sends them off and they have to step back and look at what got them here. [ONESHOT]
"Why did I even take this movie?" The blonde grumbled as she sat in the makeup chair her hair being tugged and pulled to make it look effortless, when it actually wasn't.

"Because you loved the script." Her friend shrugged from the hotel bed not looking up from her phone.

"Well that was before your brother took the role. It was three months of pure hell and now I have weeks of press tour." The blonde sighed and put her face in her hands. The makeup artist tapped her hand roughly with the handle of a brush, "Ow!"

"Don't you ruin my masterpiece." The makeup artist gave her a stern look.

"Clarke he's not _that_ bad, you guys just don't…" the brunette tried to find the best word to describe the two. "mesh?"

"Octavia it's more than we don't _mesh_. Your brother's an asshole, even you can admit that. Plus the whole time we were shooting he kept putting shit in my trailer. First he rolled it with toilet paper, then he put glasses of water on every inch of my trailer floor, and then he put crabs in it!" Clarke huffed. She saw Octavia trying not to smile, "O it's not funny!"

"Oh come on. It's a little funny." Clarke glared at her, "Look it's only for a few weeks, a few hours at a time. If you guys can fake it for the movie, you guys can fake it for the press."

"I hate you. You know that?"

"You love me bitch." Octavia smiled and hopped off the bed, "Now let's go. Our carriage awaits."

Clarke gave the makeup artist a quick thank you and grabbed her phone and slipped it in her clutch. She tugged her dress down. She wasn't a fan of the length, but that's what she gets for letting Octavia pick from her stylist when she's stuck in Toronto on a layover. Octavia was a little less curvy and a little more comfortable with her body, and she should have known she would have picked something out of her comfort zone and something a little risqué for her interviews.

Clarke was right behind Octavia and she led them out a service entrance in the back of the Hotel. When she rounded the corner and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the mop of curls. "You didn't." She turned to her best friend and shot her a glare.

Octavia gave Clarke a sheepish smile, "I figured you guys could work out your sexual frustrations in the car and not be fighting as soon as we get there."

"It is _not_ sexual frustration Octavia!" Clarke's voice carried down the hall which made the object of her distain turn and look at her.

"Nice outfit Clarke. Are you looking for them to give you a nice review for the movie if you give them a show?" If she was in a cartoon steam would be shooting out of her ears.

"I have the same exact dress Bellamy." Octavia gave her brother a stern look, "Are you insinuating I use my body too?" She raised an eyebrow at her brother daring him to say something. "Good now you two get your bitching over with, you have five minutes." She climbed into the Escalade and sat there typing away on her phone.

Clarke looked at Bellamy, "I'm not in the mood to deal with your narcissistic attitude today. Just sit there and talk to me as little as possible."

Bellamy smirked, "So we shouldn't tell them about the time you were screaming my name?"

"Oh you mean when you blasted me with a super soaker on my way to the wrap party?" She glared at him.

Bellamy laughed, "You have to admit that was pretty great."

"You know if you weren't such an ass maybe you could keep a girlfriend for more than two months!" Clarke saw his face falter.

"I don't do relationships, I do hook ups." His eyes harden.

"For the last five years? Please. You go through women faster than you go through toilet paper." Clarke smirked with her arms crossed.

"Yeah well if you'd let loose once and awhile maybe Collins wouldn't have cheated on you."

Clarke's arms fell and she looked at him her mouth slightly opened. He had hit her in her most vulnerable spot. She could tell Bellamy instantly regretted it the moment it came out of his mouth.

"Clarke I-"

"Fuck you Bellamy." Clarke turned on her heel and walked towards the Escalade and got in sitting beside Octavia while Bellamy climbed into the back sitting right behind his sister.

"Way to be a dick Bell." Octavia glared at him. It wasn't a glare Octavia often threw out but being on the receiving end made you feel so ashamed.

When they pulled up to the Hotel the press junket was being held at Clarke took a deep breath, she loved her fans but she really hated this part. Crowds made her nervous and there was currently a sea of people waiting at the entrance of the Hotel waiting to meet them.

"Alright you two put your smiles on and for fuck sakes just make it to the green room without causing a scene." They both stole a glance at Octavia and rolled their eyes in unison. Their body guard pulled open the door and helped Clarke out. Clarke instantly started talking to the right side of the crowd. She bit her lip once she got there. She always had a sharpie with her and of course she would forget it _now_. A sharpie appeared out in front of her. She glanced back to see Bellamy and he had a smile on his face so she gave him one back, all for the cameras of course. She took the Sharpie and started signing autographs while mingling with her fans. Her heart always swelled with happiness when she got to talk to her fans.

"I can't wait for your movie!"

"I love you Clarke!"

"Can you take a picture with me?"

"Are you and Bellamy together?"

This one stopped her in the middle of signing an autograph. Who the hell would think they were together? She looked up at her fans and started waving after finishing the autograph once Octavia started ushering her inside. She whispered a quiet thanks and Octavia gave her a small smile.

When they made it to the green room Clarke's stomach growled with hunger. She hadn't eaten this morning and she was starving. She loaded a plate up with fruit and had another plate with a bagel and cream cheese. She sat down at the small table and started stuffing her face. She looked up and saw that Bellamy was headed towards the table. Clarke propped her feet up on the adjoining chair and looked at him. She knew it was juvenile but she didn't want to be anywhere near him until she absolutely had to be. Bellamy took the hint and took a seat in the arm chair across the room.

Once Clarke had cleaned her plates and threw them away Octavia came in telling them that they needed to get in the press room. Both Clarke and Bellamy headed that way each taking a bottle of water that Octavia held out. She followed them in the room. "Look just make it through this, you guys can deal with your shit after this is done." She looked at both of them and each of them nodded.

"I just got done watching the film and all I can say is wow. You guys have great on screen chemistry, but I'm always a sucker for old lovers rekindling after years apart."

"Thank you." Bellamy and Clarke said in unison.

"So you guys filmed in Savannah Georgia? Did you guys do anything fun while you were there?"

"I went ATV riding, some hiking, was able to get my water legs back when I water skied. I definitely want to go back the next time I have a break between movies." Clarke watched as Bellamy laid on the charm, it took everything she had not to roll her eyes.

"What about you Clarke? Did you go with him?"

"No I'm not the outdoors type, but I tried a lot of different restaurants while I was there and completely fell in love with food. I'm pretty sure I gained ten pounds while we shot there." Clarke laughed. She cringed, it sounded so fake.

"Bellamy I hear you're quite the prankster on set."

Bellamy laughed, "Yeah. I enjoy having some fun when we have to work fourteen hour days. It keeps everyone's spirits up."

"I know in previous movies you and your cast mates have had prank wars, was it the same with this movie?"

Bellamy began to talk but Clarke cut him off, "Oh definitely. He's king of pranks. He flirted with one of the caterers on set. He had her eating out of the palm of his hand." Clarke laughed and she could feel Bellamy's glare. "Then some of his friends came to visit and they were all over each other. Bellamy found it hilarious."

Bellamy cleared his throat, "I think Clarke is mixing her movies up, I think that was 'Fatal Attraction' with Finn Collins."

Clarke looked at Bellamy taking on his silent challenge, "No I'm pretty sure it was this movie. I mean you practically had to beg to be cast after your tantrum on 'Devoted'." She knew she took it too far when his stare turned ice cold. His mother had died a few months before the filming of 'Devoted' and he had gone off the radar. He continually got into trouble, showing up late and even getting a DUI. Although after some time he was able to get himself back on track but his reputation in Hollywood had already tainted. If he could throw a low blow so could she.

Clarke could tell that the reporter looked extremely uncomfortable, "So uh…a lot of people are commenting on your chemistry in this movie. Is it as easy in person as it in on screen?"

Clarke was the first to break eye contact between them. She looked at the reporter and laughed, "Of course. It's easy to be open with each other. We have our banter like you just saw, but I'd say I'm closer to Bellamy than any other co-star I've had almost."

Clarke looked over her shoulder at Octavia who cleared her throat and tapped her watch. The reporter thanked them both and Bellamy and Clarke threw on their fake smiles and shook her hand. "Both of you. Green room. Now." Octavia said her jaw clenched. They both unhooked the microphones they had clipped to their clothes and followed her.

"Are you both fucking with me? Because I _know_ I didn't just see you two airing each other dirty laundry in front of the press. I should let her take that back to her editors but lucky for you I care about both of you too much to let you ruin each other's careers. Miller is confiscating her voice recorder and deleting the footage from the camera. I told you both to get your shit straight before going in there. You're grown ass adults, start acting like it! Clarke, bringing up Bellamy's downward spiral was fucked up; you know it was because of our mom." Clarke felt so much shame over what she had said even before Octavia said anything. She would never have done that, but she and Bellamy were like TNT. You get them too close and they explode. "And Bell bringing up Finn? That was way too far, it's been three months and you know she's still hurting. You both should be ashamed of yourselves." Octavia looked between the both of them her mouth in a hard line, "Now I have to go do damage control." He turned on her heel and walked out.

Clarke and Bellamy both stood there, neither of them saying anything or making eye contact. Octavia was right they were both acting like children, but Bellamy really got under her skin. Everything from his stupid smirk to his condescending attitude pissed her off. Sure she could admit he had a nice side. He had been the one to find her after finding out about Finn. He had taken her to the bar she drowned her sorrows in. So he wasn't all bad, but she never understood why he couldn't be that person all the time.

"Clarke I really am sorry about before." Clarke looked over at him surprised by his deep voice filling the dead air, "I never should have brought up Finn."

Clarke started to talk but her voice failed her. She cleared her throat, "I'm sorry too. Your mom is off limits and I know that. I was there for it all and I know how much it hurt you."

Bellamy nodded; "You think Octavia is going to kill us?" he was being completely serious.

"Probably." Clarke walked over and sat down on the arm chair, "When did we turn into these people? Sure we never really got along but within the last few years we've gone from irritating each other to hating one another."

"I don't hate you." She looked up at Bellamy surprised at his confession, "I've never hated you Clarke."

"Then why all of this?" She motioned between them, "Why do we constantly fight? I've known you for over six years Bellamy and we've never fought this bad. It's like after your mom died you started hating me. I thought maybe it was you just lashing out every time you saw me with Octavia, but you never stopped." Bellamy wouldn't look her in the eyes, "I know I'm not completely innocent here, but what did I do to make you hate me so much?"

"Clarke I already told you, I don't hate you. I never have." Bellamy sat down on the couch across from her and put his head in his hands. "It's complicated, okay? It doesn't make any sense and it doesn't condone me treating you like shit the last few years. I tried to make it better after everything with Finn, but we'd gotten so used to being shitty to one another that everything I said you'd take negatively. It was just easier to keep it going." He rubbed his eyes hard before growling in irritation, "God! This is not the right time to get into this." He stood up and pointed at the door, "We have to promote a movie and instead I'm in here just pouring my-"

Bellamy let the sentence drop. He didn't say anything he just stood there running his hands through is hair, "Clarke, now isn't the time for us to talk about this. We have a job to do and we have about forty reporters that are waiting on us." He started towards the door.

"Bellamy wait" Clarke got up and walked over to him, "Why after Finn? Why not before?"

Bellamy wouldn't look her in the eyes even when she put her hand on his arm. "Because you deserved someone to treat you right and I couldn't do it anymore."

"Bellamy what are-"

Octavia opened the door to the press room, "Alright you two. Try to play nice, last warning."

Bellamy walked into the room before she could ask him what he meant.


End file.
